Health insurance

braidkid

New Member
Since I'm a contractor I do not get health insurance. Does anyone know of a good company that doesn't charge pilots higher premiums? I'm wondering if AOPA might have any ideas as well...
 
I have insurance through my wife's job right now. I'm not charged a higher premium for being a pilot for health insurance, just for life insurance.

What they should do is charge me more because I mountain bike, telemark ski, and do the occassional round of carpentry. Pounding nails was a LOT more injury intensive than flying! (Let's see . . . shot in the leg with a nail gun loaded with three inch framing spikes, all four fingers on my right hand cut to the bone through my work gloves by a piece of aluminum coil stock, ladders collapsed while I was on a ladder-jacked aluminum pick 20 feet off the ground when a stack of lumber fell into them, pulled a muscle in my back when my partner slipped and lost his grip on a HUGE custom picture window . . . and that's just for starters!)

I quit biking the way I used to when I decided to go for the pilot's license. I've traditionally gone through at least a couple of helmets per season and I don't think the ME smiles upon people who break their brain buckets that often . . .

Come to think of it, maybe I should have stuck with photography. I don't think I ever got hurt when I was shooting.
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After the nail gun incident, I thought the same thing. Now it's just a side gig that I do more for fun than anything else. And, importantly, I haven't been injured since I started working alone . . .
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Nah. No Tim Allen here. In biking and skiing, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. In carpentry, the crew I was on was really good in terms of work quality, but often tried to rush a bit to get things done on time. The occassional accident happened and that's why I moved on. There are very innocent stories behind every carpentry injury but that wasn't much consolation when the nail was in my leg or I was looking a deep slices in my hand.

And, for the record, I didn't shoot myself!
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Back to the health insurance issue, though. Anyone know if AOPA has health insurance at good rates? I know alot of CFIs who could use it . . .
 
You knew I was just teasing, right? I hear what you're saying about the skiing for the adrenaline rush. I throw in a little hockey as well.

As for getting insurance, I know that CFIs ain't making much, but Blue Cross Blue Shield offers one that I used when I was waiting tables. It runs about $175 a month and is a good program. I'll try to find the info on it.
 
Health Insurance companies do not generally charge more for pilots. Accident and Life policies do. Take a look at some of the "membership" type groups in your area. When I was a contractor I joined my local Chamber of Commerce and they had a group policy for members that was much less expensive than buying independently. It's hard on a flight instructor's salary but you might consider trying to form your own "group" of fellow flight instructors at your school and approaching Blue Cross or United Health Care. It usually only takes two or more people to get a group policy.
 
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